ADU Community Panel Follow Up

Thank you to everyone who took part in the ADU Community Forum on January 30. The three panelists (Antron Watson of AARP, Chris Lee of Backyard ADUs, and Jesse Kanson-Benanav of Abundant Housing MA) provided some great information about accessory dwelling unit development, how they can support aging-in-place, and provide for more affordable housing. We also want to thank those in attendance for the great feedback and questions as we develop a proposal to update the Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) element in the Zoning By-laws. Stayed tuned as additional information about the proposed bylaw is made available in anticipation of the May 2023 Annual Town Meeting.

You can watch the recording of the forum here (the video will be posted in the coming days).

You’re also invited to continue to provide your feedback and thoughts. Tufts University's Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning is assisting the Town of Swampscott with community engagement around ADUs and housing issues more broadly. Their Community_inPUT Project is using advanced computing technology to reimagine how residents can share their thoughts and ideas in a way that can be recorded, organized, and analyzed using artificial intelligence (AI). The hope is that participation in this new kind of engagement can help Town officials understand community opinions and then translate those ideas into a proposal at May’s Town Meeting. The first step is for you to participate is to complete the following survey. Then, a Tufts student will get in touch with you about next steps and share with you tokens that you can use to participate (and even gain rewards along the way!)